The 2017 Pet Industry Federation Awards were announced on Tuesday night at a thrilling awards dinner held at Whittlebury Hall Hotel, near Northampton, in front of hundreds of pet industry delegates.

The event was organised by the Pet Industry Federation (PIF), the UK trade association for pet businesses, which this year celebrated its 70th Anniversary with a special birthday themed awards dinner. The PIF awards recognise entrepreneurial talent, commercial acumen and quality customer service in a range of businesses across the pet industry. The judges whittled down a record number of entries across thirteen categories, as part of the process to choose the overall winners.

The 2017 Awards were proudly sponsored by Mars Petcare, Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved, Natures Menu, Agria Pet Insurance, Jelf Insurance and PATS, with PBW News as the media sponsor.

The Awards took place against the backdrop of the Pet Industry Forum, which was packed with a fantastic line-up of a range business speakers whose presentations were often insightful and interactive. An outstanding array of talks covering packaging, retail theatre, exporting to the US and online security ensured that delegates took away top-level information and advice to help them develop their businesses.

Referring to the PIF Awards PIF Chief Executive, Nigel Baker said: ‘The PIF awards showed that the UK pet industry is thriving. The record number of entries we received this year, the range of businesses; the innovative approach that so many companies are taking and the positive response to what the consumer is looking for, show that the pet industry in this country has got a lot to be optimistic about and is working hard to secure its future. Many congratulations to our worthy winners. Our judges had their work cut out to determine the winning businesses this year, from the exceptionally tough competition in each of the shortlists’.